No difference in cognitive performance or gender role behavior between men with and without hypospadias

Abstract

BackgroundHypospadias is a common malformation of the male external genitalia that results in urethral displacement with different levels of severity. Male genital development during the fetal period is dependent on androgen function, while the etiology of hypospadias differs and can be multifactorial. The psychosocial outcome is sometimes affected, but according to several studies acceptable. The question of whether hypospadias is associated with differences in psychosexual development has been investigated previously, with mixed results. There are no previous investigations of cognitive abilities in men with hypospadias. ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to investigate whether hypospadias is associated with differences in performance on cognitive tests and/or gender role behavior. ParticipantsEighty-six men with hypospadias were compared to male and female controls from the general population. ProcedureCognitive tasks, previously shown to yield group level sex differences and questions regarding self-reported childhood gender role behavior, were administered either at an outpatient clinic visit or via online participation. ResultsThe cognitive performance of men and women in the control groups differed significantly in the expected directions. Men and women also differed on self-reported childhood gender role behavior questions. There were no significant differences between men with and without hypospadias on any of the measures. Men with proximal hypospadias performed slightly lower on many of the cognitive tasks in comparison to men with distal hypospadias and controls. ConclusionIn general, hypospadias is not associated with differences in performance on cognitive tests that typically yield sex differences or with altered gender role behavior in childhood. Further studies on cognitive abilities in boys and men with proximal hypospadias are warranted.